Well, I didn’t construct this description out of thin air. It’s based on how the concept of individual rights has been explained to me by various people over the years.
Natural rights vs positive rights debate depends on your personal secularity. If you believe first degree rights can only be emitted by unfalsifiable entities and you wish to keep those rights, then your stuck with those potentially undemocratic organisations who make questionable knowledge about those unfalsifiable entities. The alternative would be to accept that people can empower themselves and dismantle discrimination (ie rights) in democratic processes.
I don’t have a written record of every interaction I’ve ever had regarding this topic, unfortunately.
However, I’ve had a number of conversations or debates that have gone something like:
I will say that rights are essentially meaningless without a sufficiently strong state to enforce said rights, and they’ll reply that the state doesn’t grant rights, they can only take them away, and that the rights are theirs even if the state doesn’t recognize or enforce them. These conversations are usually with people who are very suspicious of state authority, even going so far as wanting to see the state abolished completely.
It’s kind of understandable, they’re usually American and one of the foundational documents of the US famously states that “…all men are…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” Every child in the US is taught this, more or less from birth.
Either a right is something that you have regardless of location and scenario. Or it’s something you can take away. I’m not seeing how anything meets both the criteria that you’re mentioning.
Well, I didn’t construct this description out of thin air. It’s based on how the concept of individual rights has been explained to me by various people over the years.
So, you’ve been listening to stupid people.
Well, you weren’t around. In the future, I’ll be sure to consult you first.
Natural rights vs positive rights debate depends on your personal secularity. If you believe first degree rights can only be emitted by unfalsifiable entities and you wish to keep those rights, then your stuck with those potentially undemocratic organisations who make questionable knowledge about those unfalsifiable entities. The alternative would be to accept that people can empower themselves and dismantle discrimination (ie rights) in democratic processes.
Give an example. That’d help
I don’t have a written record of every interaction I’ve ever had regarding this topic, unfortunately.
However, I’ve had a number of conversations or debates that have gone something like:
I will say that rights are essentially meaningless without a sufficiently strong state to enforce said rights, and they’ll reply that the state doesn’t grant rights, they can only take them away, and that the rights are theirs even if the state doesn’t recognize or enforce them. These conversations are usually with people who are very suspicious of state authority, even going so far as wanting to see the state abolished completely.
It’s kind of understandable, they’re usually American and one of the foundational documents of the US famously states that “…all men are…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” Every child in the US is taught this, more or less from birth.
Either a right is something that you have regardless of location and scenario. Or it’s something you can take away. I’m not seeing how anything meets both the criteria that you’re mentioning.
But again, any tangible example would be helpful.